Parents More Concerned About GTA IV Than Alcohol and Porn

During the week of July 30th, WhatTheyPlay.com ran a poll asking what parents would be most concerned about if their under-17 year old child was sleeping over a friend's house. By overwhelming majority smoking marijuana was the most concerning but what was surprising were the remaining placements. Parents were more concerned that their children would play Grand Thefy Auto IV by a small percentage over watching porn and drinking alcohol.

Former EGM editor-in-chief and WhatTheyPlay.com executive John Davison said in the most recent episode of 1UP Yours said that the survey, which received over 1600 responses, was a research tool for the site that proved that parents still don't get it and need to be more informed on the content in games. He feels the industry as a whole has a long way to go before everyone feels more comfortable with gaming. As a parent and a gamer I can't say I would be more concerned that my children may play GTA IV, or any M rated game for that matter, than I would be that they were underage drinking or watching pornography. What do you think? And what do you think can be done to educate parents more extensively on the content in games?